Australia is dropping thousands of veggies from helicopters for hungry animals escaping bushfires

The New South Wales (NWS) government is working to make sure the brush-tailed rock-wallabies affected by the Australian bushfires are fed as part of a post-fire wildlife recovery effort, according to Matt Kean, minister of energy and environment. Officials have dropped over 2,000 pounds (1,000 kilograms) of sweet potatoes and carrots across different colonies in the last week, Kean said.

“The provision of supplementary food is one of the key strategies we are deploying to promote the survival and recovery of endangered species like the brush-tailed rock-wallaby,” Kean said. “Initial fire assessments indicate the habitat of several important brush-tailed rock-wallaby populations was burnt in the recent bushfires. The wallabies typically survive the fire itself, but are then left stranded with limited natural food as the fire takes out the vegetation around their rocky habitat.”

“This is the most widespread food drop we have ever done for brush-tailed rock-wallabies,” Kean said.

The brush-tailed rock-wallabies are marsupials — like kangaroos — who “live on rocky escarpments, granite outcrops and cliffs,” according to Australia’s Department of Environment and Energy website. Of the 15 species in Australia, most have disappeared and are now considered threatened, the website says. The species is also considered endangered in New South Wales.

Large swaths of Australia have burned in the blazes that began months before the official fire season started.